[AusNOG] "All your router devices are belong to us"

[Heinz N]

I just saw this on slashdot. Get the tin foil hats out.

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/06/29/1425210/cisco-pushing-cloud-connect-router-firmware-allows-web-history-tracking

and

http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/vptu9/linksys_just_pushed_and_installed_without_my

Seems CISCO is disallowing local admin to their low end home/SOHO routers. 
Admin can apparently now only be done through their cloud (since when does 
a cloud ever fail!!?)...... Their conditions also state that they can 
monitor your traffic as they wish (and the "patriot act" NSA, FBI etc 
etc). No telling what the bandwidth implications of this are: and who will 
pay for the extra unauthorised traffic?

You may want to rethink your equipment for SOHO clients.

The whole issue with Telstra tracking HTTP traffic is just the start. How 
long before your new "trusted computing" motherboard reflashes itself and 
starts reporting all your stuff to Redmond (or China).

I am happy to stick with my dumb bridged modem talking to a Linux router 
running iptables. Very cheap and with all the functionality of the most 
expensive routers and it doesn't report to some mothership cloud.

Heinz N.